# Introduction

Kanon was founded to establish new protocols for the art of the next 100 years. NFTs introduce not only a new market but a new artistic medium. The technology isn’t new, but the attention of the current moment is unique: what gets established now will dictate the norms for decades to come.\
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Kanon’s first project is K21: a closed-end art vault that provides liquid exposure to a curated collection of 21 unique NFT artworks by a diverse roster of influential and pioneering contemporary, digital, and cryptonative artists. Pairing equitable profit sharing for artists and the socially relevant causes they choose to support with integrations into decentralized finance applications, K21 aligns the incentives of artists and investors to recast modes of patronage, philanthropy, curation, and custodianship.

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# K21 Collection

K21 is a collection of firsts: the first NFTs minted by established and emerging art world luminaries and the first iterations of trailblazing experiments in digital art. The collection has been assembled by an anonymous team of cryptoart originators and curators with over 50 years of collective experience leading contemporary art and digital programs at some of the most renowned institutions in the world.&#x20;

The artists and artworks have been selected to test the limits of NFTs as a medium and their potential for impact. The artworks will be unveiled over the coming weeks following the launch.

Participating artists: Alex Mordvintsev, COOL 3D WORLD, David OReilly, Filip Hodas, Hank Willis Thomas & the Wide Awakes, Jenna Sutela, Liam Gillick, Pak, Paul Chan, Precious Okoyomon, Rachel Rose, Raoul Marks, Rebecca Allen, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Simon Denny, Suzanne Treister, Terrell Villiers, +4 TBA.\
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As artists complete their respective works, Kanon will be assisting the artists in minting the artworks as NFTs, and will transfer the NFT tokens into the K21 Collection Safe. More details on the Safe, the Vault, and the Buyout Contract below.


# K21 Token

The K21 ERC-20 token represents partial ownership of the vault collection. The token has a hard cap of 21 million. Roughly half of the token supply was issued to purchase artworks and support social causes. Just over 21% of the tokens will be widely distributed to the community through various mechanisms including mining programs and high initial K21 / ETH ratio locked liquidity pools. \
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K21 is not a governance token but it does carry the right to vote against a buyout of the entire vault through a bid function in a dedicated smart contract. Read more about the buyout below.\
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Token holders will be able to veto the bid with a 21% consensus. If they don’t, each token holder will receive a pro-rata share of the proceeds and the 21 NFTs will be released to the successful bidder.\
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For a detailed overview of the K21 token allocation and vesting schedule please refer to our launch post on [Medium](https://kanondotart.medium.com/art-for-the-next-100-years-df25270583a5).


# K21 Vault and Buyout Contracts

As artists complete their works and mint their NFTs, they will transfer them to the K21 Safe.\
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This is a Gnosis safe with a 2/3 signature set up, which is subject to change. The K21 Safe will act as temporary storage for the artworks while Kanon completes the development of the K21 Vault Contract and the K21 Buyout Contract. \
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On completion of these contracts, Kanon will transfer the 21 artworks into the K21 Vault. The K21 Vault Contract will be a close-end vault. Once the last artwork is contributed, it will be sealed. Kanon will irrevocably assign the control of the K21 Vault to the K21 Buyout Contract.\
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Any potential purchaser can contribute funds equivalent to $21 million into the Buyout Contract and trigger an auction.\
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Token holders will be able to veto the bid with a 21% consensus. Should token holders veto the offer, the trigger price of $21 million will be increased by 7%. If they don't, K21 token holders will receive a pro-rata share of the proceeds and the 21 NFTs will be released to the successful bidder.\
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Kanon expects to complete development and audit of these contracts in the next 90 days.\
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Please note that some of the details above might change during the development process.

Update: Including, for clarity, with respect to timeframes which may be extended.


# Mining Programs

Coming soon.

Update: this initiative was not pursued


# XNFT

Every NFT artwork in the K21 collection is unique and original. K21 will introduce the concept of XNFTs to extend them with additional serial NFT artworks by the same artists that extend those in the vault, such as stills for video works or algorithmically generated iterations. Sold along bonding curves, these will allow the earliest buyers to own individual works outright at approachable prices. XNFTs can also be staked to unlock greater reward potential in the K21 liquidity mining pools.\
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Update: this took the form of <https://daemonica.io> and <https://eet.et>


# KSPEC

Many of today’s NFTs are not designed to endure. Kanon brings museological best practices for the documentation and preservation of digitally based art on-chain through KSPEC, Kanon’s open-source protocol. KSPEC extends the ERC-721 NFT standard to allow for complex artworks, their provenance, their curatorial context, and the artist’s identity and intent to be preserved indefinitely and transparently. K21 will be the first KSPEC compliant NFT collection.


# Social Impact

Sharing upside equitably with artists means that the K21 token appreciating directly benefits those who bring the most value into the system and the causes they choose to support. \~1.3 million K21 tokens will be distributed equally to each artist and another 1 million will be donated to causes for social good determined by them. NFT artworks will be minted in collaboration with SuperRare, a platform that stipulates a 10% perpetual artist royalty on subsequent sales.\
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Kanon has partnered with Art into Acres to support the preservation of over 21,000 acres of old-growth forest in Peru. "This is the first time we are taking payment in cryptocurrency and it is a significant amount of acreage to conserve for an arts program of any scale,” said Haley Mellin, founder of Art into Acres.&#x20;


# FAQ

v.0 24 March 2021

Kanon appreciates your patience as we collectively respond to our communities. We use this FAQ to continuously gather, consolidate, and update the recurring questions we receive. The best forum for submitting questions is through [@KanonDotArt](https://twitter.com/KanonDotArt) on Twitter or by emailing <info@kanon.art> for general inquiries and <media@kanon.art> for press inquiries.\
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**How will K21 as a project unfold?**\
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K21 itself is not a project. It is a token that represents partial ownership of a collection of 21 artworks. When all K21 artworks are completed, they will be added to a [smart contract vault](https://app.gitbook.com/@kanon-1/s/k21/k21-vault-and-buyout-contracts) and then the vault will be sealed. At that point, no other artworks will be added to the K21 collection.

Separately, we at Kanon are building a number of products and protocols on top of the K21 token.

These products include a [gallery](https://k21.kanon.art/gallery) that displays the works and provides rich contextualization in other online formats. We are also finalizing the first version of the KSPEC open source standard to ensure that key information is burned directly into the blockchain for all the works before they enter the vault. We are also developing the ability to mint XNFTs – serial NFT artworks by collection artists that extend their unique original works – as well as liquidity mining that may potentially make use of the XNFTs.

Note that we have chosen to develop products for the K21 token because we believe it will add to its value, however there is nothing that precludes any other party with an interest in enhancing the value of the K21 token from also developing applications that make use of the token.

**Why does Kanon operate anonymously? This is common for developers in crypto but not curators in the art world.**\
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Kanon sits at the intersection of two distinct cultures – crypto and art – where the rules have yet to be established. We seek to bring the best of both to our ventures.\
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Many of the most impactful crypto projects were helmed by anonymous inventors and teams, beginning with Satoshi Nakamoto. Because the blockchain bakes the rules directly into the code for all to see, projects should not live or die by the charisma of their founders but by the value of the infrastructure they provide. The identities and achievements of the originators are irrelevant.\
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In this sense, unlike many other art world-based projects like biennales, we aim for the concept to lead the narrative, not the identity or cv of the curator. K21 will foreground the artists’ works and the causes they choose to support, letting artists direct the way the value derived from their NFT is distributed.\
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We stand by the quality of the products we make and the impact they have, not by personal recognition in the art- or cryptospheres. The intergenerational and diverse list of artists participating in K21 not only reflects our values but also the diversity of our team. Kanon’s founders include women, people of color, and people Indigenous to lands currently under regimes of settlement.\
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By remaining anonymous we de-center ourselves in favor of the artists we admire and the technology we are building for them to experiment with a new medium. This may be foreign to art world conventions, but it was the norm online in the [pre-Facebook](https://libquotes.com/mark-zuckerberg/quote/lbh6c6v) era.

**Why are you not showing the work yet?**\
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We are releasing the K21 artworks as they are completed. You can view the artworks that have been released to date in [our online gallery](https://k21.kanon.art/gallery).

**Why do you need to lock the collection away in a sealed vault? Isn’t the point of NFT art that it is available for all to enjoy?**\
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We are using a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain known as a ‘vault’ to bundle the NFTs together in order to allow for the fractionalization of ownership through the K21 token. Only the ERC-721 NFT tokens representing ownership of the works will be sealed into the vault. As with any NFT, the digital files of the artworks will be freely available for anyone to view and interact with on the Internet. As the K21.kanon.art website evolves, the artworks in the collection and the XNFT artworks will be featured in various ways for all to see and experience.&#x20;

**Are 21 digital artworks really worth $100m?**\
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The market cap of the K21 token is not the sum value of the artworks themselves. What is being valued is the system as a whole and the potential it harbors. We hope to show at each step that we are bringing sophistication and integrity to the intersection of art, technology, and finance, through a forward-looking project that will continue to grow and evolve.\
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As with any crypto project, the early days of price discovery can take the form of wild swings. One reason Kanon brought institutional purchasers into the presale is because such investors take a long term view and are not quick to sell off their allocation, helping to dampen the early swings. As more features are built and the artworks are released, investors will have more data to make informed decisions and the price will be a more accurate reflection of the value of K21 as a whole. It will take months to know this with any conviction, and by then it will be clear that the artworks are part of a much broader value system.\
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As Isabelle Graw writes of the value of art in High Price, “*No expression of price will be adequate, since the peculiarity of symbolic value lies in the impossibility of measuring it*.” K21 is a pure expression of this idea.

**What will happen to the K21 collection if the on-chain auction never materializes, based on the veto bids from current token holders?** \
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The 21 artworks will remain in the collective possession of the K21 token holders indefinitely. Fees from the minting of XNFTs (additional serial NFT artworks by the same artists that extend those in the vault) will continue to accrue to artists and be used to increase the value of K21 (more details on this TBA). Kanon’s [KSPEC ](/k21/kspec)NFT standard aims to support the creation of works that can last 100 years and beyond. Even in the absence of a kanon.art website in the distant future, the works will remain accessible on-chain as long as the Ethereum blockchain is operational. Some artists may also elect to allow for their NFTs to be migrated onto other chains through the KSPEC protocol to ensure they outlast the particular Ethereum blockchain itself.

**How would you characterize your artist list?**\
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K21 introduces a new approach to bringing artists and artworks together. It is unencumbered by traditional categories or expectations, but introduces novel curatorial challenges.\
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For our first collection, we wanted a diverse roster, not only in terms of identity, but also in terms of approach, medium, and visibility. Because the value of the K21 token will be visible to all, if this collection were monolithic – say, all “blue chip,” or “emerging,” or “cryptonative” artists, or any of the other labels that curators and critics wield – then the token price would be an index of a particular category of art.\
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A diversified collection can best insulate the artworks and artists in the collection from the inevitable swings in the value of their work should they continue to make NFTs in a way that puts price tags into public view. We believe this provides space for artists to be more experimental and push the limits of format. It also allows artists that typically show and sell in vastly different environments to come together in a mutually reinforcing way.

**Is the list of 21 artists finalised?**

Kanon has entered into arrangements with each of the artists listed on the k21.kanon.art website. Each of these artists has agreed to provide an artwork to the K21 collection.

Until the artworks are transferred into the K21 Safe, unforeseen circumstances could require changes to the list.

Please visit K21.kanon.art for the latest list of artists and visit the [Updates](/k21/updates) section of the K21 docs to stay up to date.

**Are artists making new work specifically for K21 or did the work exist prior to it?** \
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Many of the artists are making new work commissioned specifically for K21 and NFTs as a medium. Some of the works are pre-existing, but their ownership is being minted onto the blockchain for the first time.

**Are the works in the K21 collection unique?**\
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All works are 1/1 unique; they are not editions. [XNFTs](/k21/xnft) are specifically developed by Kanon to extend these unique originals with related serial NFT-based artworks that anyone can purchase and mint. Some XNFTs will be editioned works, others will be iterative.

**What is the relationship between the artists and K21?**

K21 is acquiring 21 artworks from a group of pivotal artists in exchange for a combination of cash equivalents and K21 tokens.

Once those works have been included in the K21 Safe, the commercial arrangement with each of the artists is completed.

As such, the relationship between Kanon and each of the artists is the same as any other relationship between an artist and a collector of art.

**Why are the artists receiving K21 tokens?**

The design of the K21 Vault and Buyout contracts will result in the artists failing to receive a royalty on secondary sales in the event that a buyout of the collection is successful.

In order to compensate for this foregone royalty, Kanon offered to include K21 tokens as consideration paid for each artwork.

**What does the X stand for in XNFT?**\
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[XNFTs](/k21/xnft) extend the original work both in concept and in format. Depending on the artists’ wishes, these may take the form of image, video, 3D, sound, or text, but also VR and AR objects or environments. The X stands for the vast potential of this design space, a catch all for arNFTs, vrNFTs, xrNFTs, and whatever else our artists may develop.&#x20;

**How does Kanon address the environmental impact and ecological cost of the crypto art industry?**\
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We are conscious about the carbon footprint of the Ethereum network in its current Proof-of-Work iteration. For K21, Kanon has chosen to work in partnership with Art into Acres, an organization that works with the art industry to permanently preserve old growth forest, sequestering carbon that has been in the ground for tens of millions of years and preserving the best known technology for taking it out of the atmosphere. K21’s contribution will amount to permanently preserving well over 21,000 acres of old growth forest in Latin America. Read more about Arts into Acres [in this interview](https://www.hauserwirth.com/news/27186-art-acres-supporting-rainforest-conservation).

The question of NFTs and their CO2 footprint is a complicated one. [This article](http://sterlingcrispin.blogspot.com/2021/02/crypto-art-sky-is-not-falling.html) by artist Sterling Crispin is highly recommended.

**Who speaks for Kanon?**\
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The only official Kanon and K21 channels are @KanonDotArt on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/KanonDotArt) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/kanondotart/), the Kanon [Medium blog](https://kanondotart.medium.com/), the [kanon.art](https://kanon.art/) web properties, and the <info@kanon.art> email account. Press inquiries are being fielded by Anja Kaehny of Bureau A+ through <media@kanon.art>. The Discord admins are volunteer members of the wider Kanon community who act as intermediaries to provide timely answers to key questions while the core team focuses on building.

**What was the issue price of K21 tokens?**

Prior to launch, K21 tokens were issued to various parties, including investors, artists and collaborators, at a price of 12.4 cents each.

On 21 March 2021, 172 ETH, valued in total at approximately $310,000 at the time ([based on the average opening and closing ETH price of $1,803 according to Coingecko.com](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/ethereum/historical_data/usd?end_date=2021-03-22\&start_date=2021-03-21#panel)), was combined with 2,500,000 K21 tokens to create the initial K21 Genesis BPT liquidity tokens.

The implied initial K21 price at the time of the creation of the K21 Genesis BPT liquidity tokens was $310,000 ÷ 2,500,000 = 12.4 cents.

The inputs for calculating this implied initial 12.4 cent price can be verified in [this Ethereum transaction](https://etherscan.io/tx/0x1840e057a6e0363e66c5d253bd7ee2622984ce23d71e2c65e17a0e46c892657b).


# Updates

14 May 2021 \
**Change to Artist List of the K21 Collection** \
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[On 27 March 2021, we announced](https://twitter.com/KanonDotArt/status/1375462293677473801?s=20) that a work by Jenny Holzer would be included in the K21 Collection. After subsequent discussions with Holzer's studio, it has become clear that we will not be able to align our schedules in order to complete a work in time for the K21 Collection.

Since the project’s inception, we have been in continuous dialogue with a number of artists about potential future collections and collaborations. We are delighted to welcome into the K21 Collection Sondra Perry, an artist who constructs multifaceted narratives that explore the imagining, or imaging, of Blackness throughout history. Often taking her own life as a point of departure, Perry makes works that revolve specifically around Black American experiences and the ways in which technology and identities are entangled.

On this occasion, we’d also like to congratulate Perry as the winner of the inaugural Dream Commission established by the Rolls-Royce Muse Art Programme, in partnership with the Serpentine Gallery, London, and the Fondation Beyel<br>